Riyaz Patel
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has strongly reacted to claims by Sekunjalo Holdings chairperson Iqbal Surve that the minister was behind the dramatic raid by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) on his offices in Cape Town Wednesday.
In a video published on Independent’s Business Report website, Survé alleged the raid was an attempt to get information his media house had on Gordhan and president Cyril Ramaphosa, which was supposed to be published this weekend.
He claimed that Gordhan was “using public resources to fight political battles,” and were classic intimidation tactics orchestrated by the Public Enterprises Minister.
Gordhan’s legal team slammed the allegations as “defamatory.”
Tebogo Malatji blasted what he called Survé’s “malicious, yet nonsensical utterances” and said his attack on Gordhan were unsubstantiated, without basis in any evidence or facts.
“Our client has no oversight over the FSCA and could not possibly have directed its operations, including on whom the FSCA must conduct inspections.”
The FCSA conducted the raid on the offices of Sekunjalo and one of Surve’s other business ventures in Cape Town Wednesday, saying that it was investigating possible contraventions of Section 80 of the Financial Markets Act.
Survé denied any wrongdoing, saying the raid was a tactic designed to discredit his companies.
In his statement Thursday evening, Malatji further challenged Survé to produce proof of the allegations he made about judges.
Malatji said Survé alleged that one judge refused to grant the FSCA a warrant and that another judge who granted the warrant, did so because he has a relationship with Gordhan.
“Distraction and deflections have become a reflexive response by those who are under suspicion of one or other kind of misdemeanours,” said Gordhan through his attorney Malatji.
